Michael Jordan has credited his 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin with the team's record-breaking start to the season.

The six-time NBA champion is the most famous face of the team, but pushed some of the shine from Tyler Reddick's NASCAR record start to the 2026 season onto the 45-year-old racer.

Reddick became the first driver in the history of the Cup Series to take victory at the first three races of any given season with his victory at COTA on Sunday, after going winless in a difficult 2025 season.

The team's drivers also occupy the top two spots in the points standings, with Bubba Wallace sitting behind Reddick after a pair of good performances on superspeedways – a huge turnaround for a team whose future in the sport was in jeopardy as recently as last winter in the courts.

NASCAR RESULTS: Tyler Reddick makes history with flawless COTA performance

Jordan: I just put up the money

The team survived that and came out of the other side stronger, securing a settlement with NASCAR which included the introduction of permanent charters across the Cup Series.

With all of that out the way and the team firing better than ever, Jordan was asked what the success means to him, saying: "I’m proud of the team that we’ve put together. Denny I’m pretty sure is the same way. He feels the same way I do. I think a lot of credit goes to him because I think he’s the mastermind behind finding Tyler and putting together Billy Scott.

"Look, I just put up the money. I’m just a competitor. But I think Denny has done an unbelievable job in terms of helping build this team, and I think the team has done a good job of taking on leadership and going out and winning. That’s what it’s about, winning."

Hamlin: Jordan partnership is perfect

Hamlin, asked about Jordan's quotes later in the day, revealed that he'd butted heads with former potential partners over his desired level of control, saying: "It’s just a perfect partnership. I don’t even know how to explain it. This doesn’t work unless he gives me autonomy to do it.

"When I started kicking around trying to find a race team that would let me buy in, none of them were going to give me the control that I wanted. I don’t know what the word is for that, but I wanted to make sure if it failed, it was because of something I did, not someone else.

"When the stars aligned and we were able to start this and I was able to get him as a partner, he was – I was just so appreciative of the fact that he says, okay, here’s my percent, here’s your percent, but you’re going to have to build it. You’re going to have to do the work. You’re the boots on the ground. That was what I wanted. Where I get the gratification is from building something from scratch.

"Again, this team had, like, three employees working out of Mike Wheeler’s garage. There was nothing. We had zero. We didn’t buy a team, didn’t do anything. Just built it. This is what we’re doing. It’s pretty amazing."

NASCAR STANDINGS: Reddick continues to dominate as Cup Series drivers suffer big demotions